A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of bandmaster or music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century. The military band is capable of playing ceremonial and marching music, including the national anthems and patriotic songs of theirs and other nations, both while stationary and as a marching band. Military bands also play a part in military funeral ceremonies. There are two types of historical traditions in military bands. The first is military field music. This type of music includes bugles (or other natural instruments such as natural trumpets or natural horns), bagpipes or fifes, and almost always drums. This type of music was used to control troops on the battlefield as well as for entertainment. Following the development of instruments such as the keyed trumpet or the saxhorn family of brass instruments, a second tradition of the brass and woodwind military band was formed. A third type, that of a mounted band, serves cavalry and sometimes artillery formations. Some police forces have their own police bands that provide a similar function to that of a military band.
History
Military band instruments such as fife, drum, and bugle were historically used to communicate orders to soldiers in battle. 11th century book Diwan Lughat al-Turk mentions a prototype of the Mehtaran, as a "nevbet", Turkish military band tradition. Bands were formed by soldiers. 17th century traveler Evliya Çelebi noted that the Ottoman Empire had 40 guilds of musicians in the 1670s Istanbul. Ottoman military bands influenced European equivalents. Each regiment in the British Army maintained its own military band. Until 1749 bandsmen were civilians hired at the expense of the colonel commanding a regiment. Subsequently, they became regular enlisted men who accompanied the unit on active service to provide morale enhancing music on the battlefield or, from the late nineteenth century on, to act as stretcher bearers. Instruments during the 18th century included fifes, drums, the oboe (hautbois), French horn, clarinet and bassoon. Drummers summoned men from their farms and ranches to muster for duty. In the chaotic environment of the battlefield, musical instruments were the only means of commanding the men to advance, stand or retire. In the mid 19th century each smaller unit had their own fifer and drummer, who sounded the daily routine. When units massed for battle a band of musicians was formed for the whole.
Functions and duties
Military bands can vary in function and duties based on their specific mission. Bands may perform for a variety of reasons such as special events, military parades, military review, military tattoos, public relations, and troop entertainment. It may also play a role in boosting the esprit de corps or morale of the entire military, a particular service branch or a specific unit (usually regiment/brigade-sized at least). Military bands play ceremonial and marching music, including the national anthems and patriotic songs. A concert band's repertoire includes original wind compositions, arrangements of orchestral compositions, light music, popular tunes and concert marches found in standard repertoire. Modern-day military musicians often perform a variety of other styles of music in different ensembles, from chamber music to rock and roll.
Military bands in Africa
Algeria Military bands take place in Algeria. The Algerian People's National Army maintains military bands in the country.
Angola The Angolan Armed Forces maintains Portuguese-style military bands, primarily in the Army, Navy and Air Force and then in individual units of the FAA. The primary band is the 100-member Music Band of the Presidential Security Household, which is the official security service of the President of Angola. The music band of the Army Command was created on 16 June 1994. 4 years later, on 15 August 1998, the National Air Force created a music band within the artistic brigade. Outside the navy's marching band, the navy also has a small musical group known as Banda 10 de Julho (10 July Band), based at the Luanda Naval Base. All bands follow both the Portuguese and British precedent with the percussion at the front ranks of the band.
Cameroon
Cameroonian military bands solely follow the French precedent for military music and military bands. The Yaoundé based Music Band Company of the Cameroonian Armed Forces under the baton of Captain Florent Essimbi is the main military band of the country. The band was founded in 1959, a year before Cameroon gained its independence, as purely a brass band company. Because of its increase in musicians it was upgraded to a musical section 10 years later. It has retained its current name since 2004. The band currently and has previously relied on its cooperation with the French Military and specifically its connections to musicians from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon. Other band include the Musique du Carroussel spécial de l'armée, the Musique de la Garde Présidentielle and the Musique de la gendarmerie.
Egypt The Egyptian Armed Forces Symphonic Band is the main band of the Egyptian Armed Forces and was founded in 1838. They perform at many occasions like state visits, funerals, parades, and the annual graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. They also have a pipe band division as well.
The band has been known for playing performances of national anthems quite poorly, such as when Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin and François Hollande visited the country for a state visit.
During funerals, the band plays the Funeral March composed by Frédéric Chopin. Notable examples include the funerals of Anwar Sadat in 1981, the martyrs of the Attack On Rafah in 2012, Omar Soleiman in 2013, Hisham Barakat in 2015, Ahmed Zewail in 2016, Hosni Mubarak in 2020, and Jehan Sadat in 2021.
Instruments featured in the band include the Trombone, Tuba, Euphonium, Wagner tuba, French horn, Trumpet, Cornet, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone, Western concert flute, Piccolo, Snare drum, Bass drum and the Cymbal.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
